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Proponents claim that the police are using forces to focus on Aboriginal -youth
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Proponents claim that the police are using forces to focus on Aboriginal -youth

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While the rhetoric of serious crime is becoming tighter over Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are increasingly wearing the victims of punishing police.
Community lawyers and proponents of human rights now warn that the state of sanctioned powers will harm some of the most vulnerable in the country instead.

From New South Wales to the Northern Territory, experts say that forces such as firearms (FPOs) and comic search assignments are used in ways that violate the legal intention, violate human rights and deepen systemic racism within the Australian legal system.

Targeted, covered and undermined

Leading police – responsibility lawyer Samantha Lee of Redfern Legal Center says that her team in Aboriginal Jongeren disproportionately sees the target among laws that were never intended so widely – or so punishable.
“These laws are not used in the way the parliament was intended,” Mrs. Lee told NITV.
“FPOs are increasingly being used as aids for intimidation, in particular against young Aboriginals – many of whom have no history with firearms at all.”
Firearms prohibitions (FPOs) were introduced in NSW as a legislative tool to reduce gun -related crime.

They give the police broad powers to stop, search and follow persons suspected of forming a risk with firearms – even if those people have never been caught with a weapon.

Once an FPO has been published, the police can search for a person, their house or vehicle at any time without an order.
Lee says that her customers are being caught in the net for small violations, or simply to associate with someone else who has an FPO.
“We had young customers spent these orders on things such as entering entering or damage to property. In some cases they were just in a car with someone who had an FPO.

“That is not what this law was designed for.”

Systemic discrimination in the police

Redfern Legal Center’s investigation shows that people are first nations over-represented in the use of FPOs, comic search assignments, general searches and use of violence by the NSW police.
Lee says that these figures are not a coincidence – they point to a much deeper problem.

“You cannot look at this data and reject it. This is not about more crime-it is about exaggerating and racial profiling. It is systemic.”

One of the most alarming trends is the growing number of Aboriginal children who are subject to comic search assignments – some as young as 10 years old.
“These are incredibly invasive procedures,” said Lee.

“And they happen in public places, in the full view of others. We are talking about children who are traumatized, often without present parents, and with little attention to their rights or well -being.”

A national pattern of human rights violations

The problems in NSW are not isolated. Throughout the country, the heavy policy of crime is rolled out in ways that indigenously influence indigenous communities-in particular children.

Katie Kiss, a woman from Kaanju and Birri/Widi and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, warned that native rights are being confronted with a persistent and escalating attack.

“We are in an invisible war for our survival, dignity and well -being,” said Mrs. Kiss.
“This is not just a local problem – it is part of a worldwide pattern that confronts native peoples around the world.”
They criticized recent performance of juvenile crime in Queensland and the Northern Territory, where governments have introduced laws that reduce protection for young people, including reducing the age of criminal responsibility to 10 and expanding adult fines for children.
“What we see in Queensland are serious infringements of children’s rights,” she said.

“And in the NT we have political leaders who are completely not impressed by the United Nations criticism. That speaks volumes.”

‘Working in a vacuum’: Lack of supervision

In NSW, Lee says that one of the biggest worries is the almost total lack of supervision for how FPOs and Strip search assignments are used.
“Nobody has this good audit,” she said Nitv.

“These powers are exercised without independent control, and when that happens – especially in other communities – it is not just a legal issue, it is a human rights issue.”

They and other legal proponents ask for urgent reforms, including independent monitoring of how FPOs and search powers are applied, stricter legal thresholds to prevent abuse, and a complete assessment of police culture and training, in particular around racial bias and trauma-inspired practices.
“The audience must know what happens to our young people,” said Lee.

“This is not only about rogue officers – it is about systemic failures that require accountability.”

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